It all started in 1986 when I was 10. My Dad bought me my first computer, an Amstrad CPC 464. Games were loaded via cassette and some games could take nearly 30 minutes to load. Imagine that. The computer also came with a monitor, the legendary green screen monitor. Everything was displayed in different shades of green. Lovely.
Games such as Harrier Attack, Oh Mummy and Roland in the Caves soon became favourites. Jet Set Willy was also played alot. What a strange little game. It had the advantage of being a very quick game to load. And then there was The Bard’s Tale. A classic RPG of it’s day. The number of enemies I killed with a fire horn - unbelievable. (you had to be there) I can still remember some of the music from that game. I’m sure I’m not the only one.
Amiga
In 1990 I got an Amiga computer. This was a big step-up from my Amstrad and was capable of real good graphics and sound. The Amiga turned out to be a real high point for gamers in the early 1990s and produced a long line of classic games, many of which still survive in some format today. Some of my favourites included Lemmings, Cannon Fodder, Bloodwych, Double Dragon, Sensible Soccer, Sim City, James Pond, Railroad Tycoon, Hired Guns, Secret of Monkey Island and Dune 2.
The game that probably took up the most time was a turn-based strategy affair called Warlords. It was simple to learn with modest game rules but required real commitment and planning to master. I enjoyed the challenge of starting off from a small base and expanding your armies and influences through strategic play. It was a cleverly designed game and allowed the player to adopt a variety of tactics. The game had plenty of re-play value for me and will always be regarded as one of my all-time favourites.
1990 to 1995 were the Amiga years and it would be remiss of me not to mention the excellent Amiga Power. This was a magazine published by Future Publishing that became the number 1 gaming magazine for the Amiga. Reading AP every month was a pure joy. Check out the AP wikipedia site to understand why it was so great.
Sunday, 23 January 2011
Monday, 3 January 2011
John Dickson Carr
Reading the books of John Dickson Carr has become a passion of mine in recent years. So far I have read 21 of his books. Not a bad start, though considering he wrote about 70 books I’ve still got a way to go. He’s probably an author you’ve never heard. A writer from the Golden Age of Detective fiction (Agatha Christie’s era), he is known for his impossible crime stories and locked-room murder mysteries. I first became aware of him whilst reading a list of essential crime fiction published in the Guardian newspaper a few years ago. They recommended his book “The Hollow Man”. Thankfully this was of his books still in print. I read it and loved every bit of it. It was fantastic story telling and a masterful plot. Since that point I’ve been hooked on Carr books.
Half the fun of reading his books is collecting them in the first place. There are less than half a dozen of his books still in print. It will be a real challenge to gather together all his books and read them. And hopefully an enjoyable challenge. In my first year of reading Carr I went to the famous book town Hay-on-Wye to hunt down some books. I found one Carr and left with a fresh appreciation of how difficult it could be to build my collection. Websites like ebay and amazon market place have plenty of Carr books available but I know as my collection grows it will become increasing difficult to find those rarer books. And to make it even more fun there are the different versions of his books to collect, namely the English and American editions. As a sign of my passion for Carr I was in France in summer last year and bought three second hand copies of his books in French. Needless to say I can’t read French, but it’s pretty cool to have them in my Carr collection.
So 2011. A simple aim. To read 9 more Carr books to take the total upto 30. I already have five unread books to get on with. Actually six come to think of it. Though the sixth is a non-fiction work, a biography on the life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
I now present a list of my Top 10 John Dickson Carr books. It will be interesting to see if there is much change to this list by the end of this year.
1. The Hollow Man
2. The Judas Window
3. Papa La-Bas
4. The Emperor’s Snuff Box
5. It Walks by Night
6. The Seat of the Scornful
7. The Crooked Hinge
8. Fire, Burn
9. Captain Cuthroat
10. He Who Whispers
Half the fun of reading his books is collecting them in the first place. There are less than half a dozen of his books still in print. It will be a real challenge to gather together all his books and read them. And hopefully an enjoyable challenge. In my first year of reading Carr I went to the famous book town Hay-on-Wye to hunt down some books. I found one Carr and left with a fresh appreciation of how difficult it could be to build my collection. Websites like ebay and amazon market place have plenty of Carr books available but I know as my collection grows it will become increasing difficult to find those rarer books. And to make it even more fun there are the different versions of his books to collect, namely the English and American editions. As a sign of my passion for Carr I was in France in summer last year and bought three second hand copies of his books in French. Needless to say I can’t read French, but it’s pretty cool to have them in my Carr collection.
So 2011. A simple aim. To read 9 more Carr books to take the total upto 30. I already have five unread books to get on with. Actually six come to think of it. Though the sixth is a non-fiction work, a biography on the life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
I now present a list of my Top 10 John Dickson Carr books. It will be interesting to see if there is much change to this list by the end of this year.
1. The Hollow Man
2. The Judas Window
3. Papa La-Bas
4. The Emperor’s Snuff Box
5. It Walks by Night
6. The Seat of the Scornful
7. The Crooked Hinge
8. Fire, Burn
9. Captain Cuthroat
10. He Who Whispers
Friday, 2 April 2010
I think micro-blogging is the way forward, for now at least. Most things can be said within the 140 character limit on Twitter. And if you have something more to say you can always put a link into a blog. Also people haven't got the time to read blogs. Micro-blogging is the ideal solution.
I joined Twitter over a year ago but didn't really get into it. I tried again recently and have found it to be a useful and enjoyable website. I went off Facebook a long time ago, too full of clutter and too slow. Twitter, for now at least, is quick and simple to use, though I read that adverts may be coming to the site. This may take the edge off its appeal.
This is me: http://twitter.com/parsley76
I joined Twitter over a year ago but didn't really get into it. I tried again recently and have found it to be a useful and enjoyable website. I went off Facebook a long time ago, too full of clutter and too slow. Twitter, for now at least, is quick and simple to use, though I read that adverts may be coming to the site. This may take the edge off its appeal.
This is me: http://twitter.com/parsley76
Sunday, 11 January 2009
John Dickson Carr
My first 10 John Dickson Carr books in order of preference:
1. The Hollow Man
2. The Judas Window
3. Papa La-Bas
4. The Emperor's Snuff Box
5. It Walks by Night
6. Fire, Burn
7. Captain Cutthroat
8. The Case of the Constant Suicides
9. The Corpse in the Waxworks
10. The Demoniacs
Thursday, 18 December 2008
My Favourite Film
Double Indemnity
I first saw this film during my University studies. I was doing a Film Noir module at the time and our lecturer played this film for us.
It's my favourite film because;
1. Mostly importantly, it's a great film.
2. I was a captive viewer dosed up on Film Noir theory.
These two factors combined to have a lasting impression on me. I simply adore everything about the film. Double Indemnity is your archetypal film noir. A story of greed and deception set in the urban sprawl of 1940s Los Angles. The tone is wonderfully down-beat in keeping with the ambiguous morality of the genre. The story is told in flashback and revolves around an elaborate insurance fraud. Barbara Stanwyck is sensational as the Femme Fatale. The film is a masterpiece in many ways.
My top three highlights:
1. The phenomenal dialogue
2. The intricate plot
3. The knock-out performances from the 3 leading stars; Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck & Edward G. Robinson.
The following quote was one of 400 nominated quotes in the American Film Institute's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes list of the best film quotes in American film history:
Phyllis (Stanwyck): There's a speed limit in this state, Mr. Neff. 45 miles an hour.
Walter: How fast was I going, officer?
Phyllis: I'd say around 90.
Walter: Suppose you get down off your motorcycle and give me a ticket.
Phyllis: Suppose I let you off with a warning this time.
Walter: Suppose it doesn't take.
Phyllis: Suppose I have to whack you over the knuckles.
Walter: Suppose I bust out crying and put my head on your shoulder.
Phyllis: Suppose you try putting it on my husband's shoulder.
Walter: That tears it...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Indemnity_%28film%29 copy
---
Originally posted at: http://iq.lycos.co.uk/qa/show/57681/?id=57681&aid=176017&withNeutral=
I first saw this film during my University studies. I was doing a Film Noir module at the time and our lecturer played this film for us.
It's my favourite film because;
1. Mostly importantly, it's a great film.
2. I was a captive viewer dosed up on Film Noir theory.
These two factors combined to have a lasting impression on me. I simply adore everything about the film. Double Indemnity is your archetypal film noir. A story of greed and deception set in the urban sprawl of 1940s Los Angles. The tone is wonderfully down-beat in keeping with the ambiguous morality of the genre. The story is told in flashback and revolves around an elaborate insurance fraud. Barbara Stanwyck is sensational as the Femme Fatale. The film is a masterpiece in many ways.
My top three highlights:
1. The phenomenal dialogue
2. The intricate plot
3. The knock-out performances from the 3 leading stars; Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck & Edward G. Robinson.
The following quote was one of 400 nominated quotes in the American Film Institute's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes list of the best film quotes in American film history:
Phyllis (Stanwyck): There's a speed limit in this state, Mr. Neff. 45 miles an hour.
Walter: How fast was I going, officer?
Phyllis: I'd say around 90.
Walter: Suppose you get down off your motorcycle and give me a ticket.
Phyllis: Suppose I let you off with a warning this time.
Walter: Suppose it doesn't take.
Phyllis: Suppose I have to whack you over the knuckles.
Walter: Suppose I bust out crying and put my head on your shoulder.
Phyllis: Suppose you try putting it on my husband's shoulder.
Walter: That tears it...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Indemnity_%28film%29 copy
---
Originally posted at: http://iq.lycos.co.uk/qa/show/57681/?id=57681&aid=176017&withNeutral=
Thursday, 11 September 2008
What makes me feel good?
Watching rugby union, listening to Stereolab, drinking red wine, having a hot bath, starting a book, sight of snow falling, squirrels running about, red sunsets, being indoors during a thunder storm, eating cauliflower cheese, waterfalls, the colour yellow, twenty minutes on my exercise-bike, waking-up in the middle of the night and thinking you have to go to work soon then realising it's Sunday morning, crisps, receiving a text message from a friend, taking clear photographs, not having to iron, Bank holidays, baby wipes, serotonin, Glamorgan winning at cricket, when the price of petrol drops, reading The Guardian, spelling difficult words correctly, answering questions on Mastermind, the shipping forecast, watching Q.I., recieiving no junk e-mail, quiet aisles in the supermarket, peace of mind, good health for my family …
---
Originally posted at:
Thursday, 4 September 2008
Rugby and all that
The domestic rugby season starts this weekend. Hasn't the summer gone quickly? When I say summer, in Britain it was just a few weeks in May. The kids had a very poor summer for their school holidays.
It's a Lions season this year and players will be busting a gut to try and get noticed for the squad selection. I expect to a see a great season of domestic rugby. It will be an interesting season for Wales' two big exports to the Guinness Premiership, Dwayne Peel and Michael Owen. Sale have snapped up the services of Dwayne and his increased exposure to an English audience will enhance his claims for Lions selection. If he has a good season I think he will be in with the mix for selection along with Mike Phillips, Mike Blair, Danny Care and Harry Elllis.
Michael Owen's move to Saracens was a surprise when it was announced last year. As a former Newport Dragons player Michael has been one of my favourite Welsh players for many years. For a forward he has great handling abilities and is a prominent player when the game is open and loose. His biggest failing, and it's a very big failing for a forward, is that he is too soft. He's one of the least aggressive forwards I've ever seen. For a man of size, approx 6ft 4ins, he's way too soft. He doesn't hit rucks and mauls with enough power and when carrying the ball he's not dynamic enough. Compare him with someone like James Haskell of Wasps and you can see the difference.
The Guinness Premeirship is more brutal than the Magners league and it will be interesting to see how Michael copes with the increased intensity. I've noticed Saracens have given him his debut this Saturday at number 8. I would have used him as a lock.
Good luck Dwayne and Michael.
More rugby on my rugby blog:
http://blogsaway-parsley1976.blogspot.com/
It's a Lions season this year and players will be busting a gut to try and get noticed for the squad selection. I expect to a see a great season of domestic rugby. It will be an interesting season for Wales' two big exports to the Guinness Premiership, Dwayne Peel and Michael Owen. Sale have snapped up the services of Dwayne and his increased exposure to an English audience will enhance his claims for Lions selection. If he has a good season I think he will be in with the mix for selection along with Mike Phillips, Mike Blair, Danny Care and Harry Elllis.
Michael Owen's move to Saracens was a surprise when it was announced last year. As a former Newport Dragons player Michael has been one of my favourite Welsh players for many years. For a forward he has great handling abilities and is a prominent player when the game is open and loose. His biggest failing, and it's a very big failing for a forward, is that he is too soft. He's one of the least aggressive forwards I've ever seen. For a man of size, approx 6ft 4ins, he's way too soft. He doesn't hit rucks and mauls with enough power and when carrying the ball he's not dynamic enough. Compare him with someone like James Haskell of Wasps and you can see the difference.
The Guinness Premeirship is more brutal than the Magners league and it will be interesting to see how Michael copes with the increased intensity. I've noticed Saracens have given him his debut this Saturday at number 8. I would have used him as a lock.
Good luck Dwayne and Michael.
More rugby on my rugby blog:
http://blogsaway-parsley1976.blogspot.com/
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